Bears fall to Juan Diego big in 3AA football

It wasn’t the way the Bears wanted to see their game go, but Juan Diego was bigger, faster and stronger and simply rolled past Bear River big, 45-13, Friday night in Garland.

The two teams had lit up the scoreboard with amazing point totals last week, the Bears led by JarDee Nessen’s school record 492 passing yards scored 62 in their win over Tooele, and Juan Diego put up 69 on Ben Lomond. But it was only the Soaring Eagle who were able to light it up tonight, with 420 yards of total offense versus only 216 for Bear River.

The Bears were their own worst enemy tonight. The experienced offensive line had trouble keeping Juan Diego’s rushers out of Nessen’s face and it showed, as he only completed 11 of 23 passes for 160 yards. He also was the leading rusher with 28 yards. He had two touchdown passes but also two interceptions, one on a catchable ball that hit his receiver in the shoulder pads. When he did have time, several passes were also dropped.

On defense, the Bears just couldn’t stop the Soaring Eagle and their option attack. 339 of the total offense for JD came on the ground, while only 81 came via the air. Mckade Mitton continued to terrorize the offense, this time recording 16 tackles. Tanner Porter had an interception for BR. On the other side, the BR ground game was anemic with only 56 yards on 27 attempts.

The Bears now must refocus for an equally daunting task; they host region champion Stansbury next week in Garland. The Stallions also rolled over Ben Lomond, 42-16.